Two versions of the attack on a Pakistani diplomat have come up: one report based on the statement of an Indian official maintains that the vehicle of our First Secretary in the High Commission in India had a slight road accident which only resulted in loose talk and shouting. The second version is that he was ambushed by unidentified motorcyclists who intercepted his car, roughed him up and also injured his driver. Whichever of the accounts is true, the sad thing is that something bad has happened that was avoidable in the first place; the humiliation of a Pakistani official in a public place in India doubtless leaves the impression as though the insults hurled at him were meant with an ominous intent. The state of bilateral ties is quite fragile; indeed even when it is at its strongest – as at present perhaps -- it is brittle enough for any such stunt to send its shockwaves across the entire gamut of relations sometimes going up the highest echelons of power. An irritant of the sort always registers fallout often in the shape of a reprisal move. This settling of score holds true of prisoners as recently witnessed in the case of Sarabjit Singh that was followed by the murder of a Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah in an Indian prison. Instances abound when an attack on a diplomat is avenged by a similar attack by the other side. Whoever they are, the perpetrators are enemies of peace and are clearly loathe to see the neighbours living in a state of happy co-existence. Caution should be exercised where antagonism is invoked but that does not mean that those who try to bedevil the ties with rank cowardice are allowed to get away with it. In line with the Vienna Convention, the Indian government has a duty to provide security to Pakistan’s diplomatic staff. But since even the diplomatic officials regularly experience unpleasant situations, one can well imagine the dangers faced by general Pakistani visitors.